The Phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’ Can Now Be Used in All 50 States
Taco Bell is celebrating a big legal victory.
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell
Taco Tuesday is for everyone … in all 50 states. That fact is now official. Legal. Binding. And Taco Bell, which fought to make it so, is celebrating.
For those not keeping track of the legal play-by-play over the rights to the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” Taco Bell filed legal petitions earlier this year to challenge two trademark regulations prohibiting its widespread use. Use of the phrase, Taco Bell maintained, was too common to warrant legal restriction.
This summer, Taco Bell’s legal team prevailed just shy of completely, when fellow fast food chain Taco John’s surrendered its trademark “Taco Tuesday,” which had prevented use of the phrase by other entities in 49 states.
The holdout? New Jersey. Until this week. Now, Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar, in Somers Point, New Jersey, which trademarked “Taco Tuesday” in 1982, has relinquished his claim to the phrase, allowing Taco Bell to claim victory in all 50 states and “New Jersey businesses and residents to fully celebrate the best day of the week,” as Taco Bell puts it.
To mark the milestone, Taco Bell is offering its New Jersey Rewards Members a chance to celebrate Taco Tuesday on November 21 with a free order of Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos. The freebie will be available through the Taco Bell app at participating New Jersey Taco Bell locations. No purchase is necessary.
“When we set out to free Taco Tuesday, we did it for all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos,” Taco Bell Chief Global Brand and Strategy Officer and incoming Chief Executive Officer, Sean Tresvant says in a news release. “Taco Bell wants everyone to have the opportunity to celebrate Taco Tuesday, including Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar. Thanks to Gregory’s choice to relinquish the trademark registration, New Jersey businesses and fans can fully enjoy Taco Tuesday, effective immediately.”
Taco Bell has hailed its legal victory as paving the way for “a new era for restaurants nationwide.”
“Now taco shops big and small can ring in Taco Tuesday with their patrons however they see fit without fear of legal repercussion,” the brand says. “Taco Tuesday officially belongs to everyone, from Taco Bell to Taco John’s to Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar to your favorite local taco spot.”
The chain suggests that its Rewards Members should be on the alert for weekly Taco Tuesday deals, drops and special events from here on out.
And what about Gregory Gregory, the co-owner of Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar, who held the exclusive rights to use the phrase Taco Tuesday in New Jersey for more than three decades, before relinquishing them on October 20, 2023? He seems to be OK with the whole “new era” for Taco Tuesday thing.
“Taco Tuesday has always been a source of pride for my family and our restaurant, but we recognize Taco Tuesday is widely celebrated and embraced beyond our four walls,” Gregory says in a statement. “We’re excited to share Taco Tuesday with the entire New Jersey community and though we’ve relinquished the trademark registration, you can bet Taco Tuesdays will live on at Gregory’s forever.”
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